The Buffalo River

Off To The Buffalo River This Weekend

Chris — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:22:24 +0000

????????We’ll be making our annual Memorial Day weekend pilgrimage to the Buffalo River this coming weekend! The weather has finally decided to cooperate in recent days. We’ve had no rain and the temps have jumped up into the mid to upper 80’s. Hopefully the weather will hold out for the weekend.

We plan to stay in the Wollum area which is likely to be a bit crowded. This is a popular time of year to visit and float the Buffalo. Reports from others that were floating this past weekend leads me to believe that the water will be in pretty good shape, barring any heavy rains in the next few days.

I’ll add some pics when I get back home from the trip. Check back in about a week!

Leaf Colors In The Ozarks And Buffalo River Area

Chris — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:59:39 +0000

My intent was to get away today and head for the Buffalo River to enjoy the beauty of the fall color show that is starting to happen there! Yep, according to Tim Ernst, the leaves are changing colors and they’re changing in a hurry. My suggestion; do whatever it takes to get out of the house and visit the Buffalo River area for some of the most beautiful fall foliage you will probably ever see! If you see some amateur out there, wildly snapping pictures of anything and everything…it may very well be me!

Fall Leaves & Color In The Ozarks & Buffalo River Area

Chris — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 15:07:26 +0000

Fall is an absolute splendid time of year along the Buffalo River or pretty much anywhere in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas. If you’ve never had a chance to visit the Ozarks during the fall season, I would highly encourage it! The air is cool and crisp and the colors of the leaves changing are gorgeous!

Since I do not actually live on the Buffalo, and don’t get to visit as much as I would like, I always try to get fall color updates through Tim Ernst’s online journal. Tim and his family live right in the heart of Buffalo River country, and Tim always keeps us up to date on conditions in the area and he also offers some spectacular photography! I encourage you to visit Tim’s website sometime and check out the different books and photos he offers for sale. You will be impressed!

The fall colors are running a bit late this year. Here it is the last half of October, and we’re just now beginning to see a “hint” of color change in the leaves. We’ve had several days recently in the lower to mid eighties. I will say that the humidity has been relatively low, so it hasn’t really felt that warm. We’re expecting this to be a beautiful weekend!

Even with some recent rainfall, the Buffalo River remains pretty low according to the “Buffalo National River Hydrologic Data” website. This is a great site to bookmark if you plan to float or vacation along the river.

The mornings have been cool and crisp recently, even though we’ve had some relatively warm days. This is great camping weather! I can think of nothing better than getting out of bed on a cool morning and enjoying a hot cup of coffee while sitting around a warm campfire and listening to the river roll by!

This is really a great time of the year to enjoy Arkansas. Whether you’re planning a camping or hiking trip, attending one of the many festivals in the Ozarks or just taking a weekend drive to enjoy the foliage, you just can’t go wrong!

Lost Valley On The Buffalo River

Chris — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 01:17:21 +0000

Here is a great video from an place that is in the Buffalo National River area. It’s called “Lost Valley” and it is truly a spectacular place. It’s been several years since I’ve been there, but I remember it well. The person in the video is Chuck Dovish, (this guy has the job I’d like to have!) This is from a “Traveling Arkansas” segment that he did. If you make it to the Buffalo River, you should take time to visit Lost Valley.

Primitive Camping Along The Buffalo

Chris — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 22:28:52 +0000

There are numerous places to camp along the Buffalo River. The biggest question…are you opposed to camping in a “primitive” campground, or do you prefer something

a little more on the comfortable side?

“Primitive” camping is pretty much like it sounds. No electricity and no fresh running water, (none out of a spigot anyway) . “Some” are equipped with relatively nice toilets that are periodically cleaned and stocked with toilet paper. Basically you drive up or float up to these campgrounds, pick a spot and set up camp. Want to bring your 30 foot camper along to make the primitive camping a little less primitive? I’d think twice about that. Many of the primitive campgrounds are basically in-accessible to large campers. The main reason is because the roads into these campgrounds can be very narrow and if you meet another vehicle while pulling a large camper, it can make for a bad situation. A tent or small “pop-up” camper generally works much better in these areas.
Here is a list of primitive campgrounds along the river:

Steel Creek
Kyle’s Landing
Ozark
Hasty
Carver
Mt. Hersey
Wollum
Maumee South
Dillards Ferry
Rush

And thats pretty much it before you reach the White River. Now keep in mind that if you’re floating or if there is road access, you can camp pretty much anywhere along the river. Primitive campgrounds are normally kept up a bit better and normally have toilets.

Here is a satellite picture of the Wollum camping area, compliments of Google Earth. (I just love Google Earth )

You can see that I’ve added some notes about the area. We have camped in both areas and it’s generally more peaceful if you go to the area where the shuttles aren’t putting people in and picking up canoes. This is also a “river ford” so it’s not uncommon to have vehicles crossing the river here. Generally a lot more traffic in this area.

Got questions? Feel free to use the contact form to let me know what they are. If I can’t answer your question, I’ll find someone who can!

Smallmouth Bass Fishing Buffalo River Arkansas

Chris — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 18:25:14 +0000

Smallmouth bass fishing on the Buffalo can be a ton of fun! When we get to float, we I spend probably half my time fishing and half paddling, (depending on how energetic my wife feels ) You can catch perch all day long, but the smallmouths can be a bit more of a challenge. I’ve personally had good luck fishing in the shoals where the current is a little stronger, but I’ve caught smallmouth all along the river.

Here is a pretty good video of some guys fishing for smallmouth bass on the Buffalo. It also gives you a good idea of the scenery along this beautiful river. Enjoy!

Don’t Get Caught Without Clean Drinking Water

Chris — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:58:52 +0000

It’s one thing to take off on your next hiking or camping trip and forget your Grey Poupon. It’s quite another to be stuck somewhere without clean drinking water!

The Buffalo River area has lots of small, clear running streams where you can refill your canteen “if” the weather has been cooperating. But this time of year, (mid-August), chances are that you’re not going to find a lot of water running. If you’re hiking, camping, floating or horseback riding, it’s important to be sure you have plenty of fresh, clean drinking water. As hot as the weather has been recently, it’s easy to become dehydrated “very” quickly. And even though you might have enough drinking water to get you through your planned trip, it’s always good to prepare for the worst by either bringing your own water filter or water purification tablets.

Lets face it…accidents happen. You DON’T want to get caught out somewhere without water. Many water filters are relatively inexpensive, easy to pack and don’t weigh a lot. We have one that we keep tucked away in our vehicle for emergencies.

Be safe and enjoy the beautiful outdoors when you can. August in Arkansas is definitely one of those months when indoor activities are generally preferred because of the heat and high humidity. If you do get out, think ahead and pack for accordingly and you should be fine.

Horseback Trail Distances For Various Rides

Chris — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:16:15 +0000

I’m not a horseback rider myself, but I know it’s a very popular pastime in the Buffalo River area. In fact, the last few years we’ve spent our Memorial Day floating and camping out of the Wollum area and there is a huge horse camp that sets up that weekend in the field at Wollum. I’m not sure which trails they use, but I see many of them cross the river at Wollum throughout the day.

I wanted to list a few of the trails that I’m aware of. Again…I’ll be breaking out the Buffalo National River West Trail map, which lists some trails with mileages. The East Trail Map doesn’t doesn’t reference any specific trails or distances, but does show the actual horseback trails on the map. For the purposes of this post, I won’t go into a lot of specifics about the trails, but the trail descriptions on the West half map do provide a few more details.

Ponca to Erbie - 13.9 miles
Steel Creek to Sneeds Creek, Erbie - 12.3 miles
Center Point, Sneeds Creek, Erbie - 12.3 miles
Cecil Cove Loop - 7.2 miles
Erbie to Pruitt - 8.6 miles

All distances are one way, and all the trails are connected. Consider combining trails for a longer ride.

Pick up a map and plan a great weekend of horseback riding with friends in the Buffalo National River area!

Buffalo River Floating Mileages & Distances West Half

Chris — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 02:12:55 +0000

I wanted to create a couple of posts for those of you that might be interested in the float distances along the river. I’ll be using my trusty Buffalo National River West Trail, map which provides not only mileages, but topographic details and special points of interest. If you’re the type that enjoys knowing exactly where you’re at when you’re floating, hiking, camping or horseback riding, you’ll want to invest in these maps! They’re waterproof and tearproof so they’re very durable when you’re out and about.

I’m just going to give mileages on some of the more popular floats. Mileages are approximate depending on exactly where you put in and where you take out. And just because I don’t list a lot of “points of interest” along a particular section, don’t think that you won’t enjoy the paddling! It’s beautiful the whole length of the river. It’s just that some will contain more historic sites or named bluffs and areas.

Steel Creek to Kyle’s Landing - 8 miles
Points of interest on this float

Big Bluff
Jim Bluff
Henderson House
Center Point School Site
Seamster Cabin Site
Arbaugh House

Kyle’s Landing to Erbie - 5.5 miles
Points of interest on this float

Buzzard Bluff
Gar Hole Bluff
Farmer Farmstead
Jones Farmstead

Erbie to Ozark - 5.5 miles
Points of interest on this float

Cedar Grove

Ozark to Pruitt - 2 miles (would probably want to incorporate this section into another float)
Nothing too exciting along this short stretch although the scenery is always great!

Pruitt to Hasty - 7 miles
Points of interest on this float

Welch Bluff
Little Buffalo River Inlet at Flatiron Bluff
Gray Bluff

Hasty to Carver - 4.25 miles
No points of interest listed on map for this section

Carver to Mt. Hersey - 6.75 miles (yes that HERSEY and not HERSHEY)
Points of interest on this float

Falls Bluff

Mt. Hersey to Woolum - 9 miles
Points of interest on this float

Copper Bluff
Clair Bluff
John Reddell Bluff
Cane Bluff
The Bat House (Skull Bluff)
The Narrows at Skull Bluff

This pretty much completes the mileages for the western portion of the river. I’ll create another post to cover the east portion.

Buffalo River Float During The Dog Days Of Summer

Chris — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 03:46:56 +0000

The Buffalo is a great river for floating pretty much year round. But…we’re hitting a period of the summer when the river levels drop and floating on the Buffalo becomes more work than fun! Our summer started out very wet, but I believe the “dog days” of summer have finally arrived.

Now that doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time along the river, but this is the time of year when a “good float” is when you lay on a vinyl raft with a cold drink and your feet dangling in the water! Even a good thunderstorm with heavy rainfall doesn’t do much to the river this time of year because the vegetation along the hillsides drinks up so much of the runoff before it has a chance to reach the river itself.

A quick check of the Buffalo National River Hydrologic Data System shows that there hasn’t been any significant rainfall in the area in the last couple of days and the upper portions of the river are considered “very low”. If you do plan to float anytime soon, I would say your best bet is going to be anything downriver from Tyler Bend.

For a “human” reading on what the river looks like right now, I would recommend a call to Silver Hill Canoe Rental at 870-439-2372, or Buffalo River Outfitters at 800-582-2244. They’re at the river every day and can tell you exactly what to expect.